Accolon is a character in

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

s where he is a lover of

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...

who is killed by

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

in a duel during the plot involving the sword

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the

Post-Vulgate Cycle The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at wh ...

, including as Accalon in the French original Huth ''Merlin'' and Acalón in the Spanish adaptation ''El Baladro del Sabe Merlin''.

Medieval literature

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

's ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

'', Accolon is referred to as Sir Accolon of

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. He is the object of desire for

's half-sister. (As described in Accolon's original story in the Post-Vulgate ''Suite de Merlin'' that was Malory's source: "She loved him so madly that she desired to kill her husband ing Urien">Urien.html" ;"title="ing Urien">ing Urienand her brother [King Arthur">Urien">ing_Urien<_a>.html" ;"title="Urien.html" ;"title="ing Urien">ing Urien">Urien.html" ;"title="ing Urien">ing Urienand her brother [King Arthur for she thought she could make Accolon king, either by the devil's help or by magic or by entreaty of the nobles of Great Britain.") At an early stage in Malory's book, Accolon is hunting together with King Arthur and King Urien when they become lost and are forced to camp in the woods. After they came upon and board Morgan's fairy boat, Accolon awakens in a field where Morgan appears and gives him the magic sword

, which Arthur had earlier entrusted to her. She tells him he must use the weapon in his next fight with a mysterious swordsman who is actually Arthur, himself wielding a sword he believes to be Excalibur but which was actually a fake given to him by Morgan. Neither man recognises the other but Accolon gains the upper hand due to wielding the real Excalibur, as well as its also magical scabbard, together giving its user the near invincibility in battle. During the duel, Arthur's sword breaks; he quickly realises this was not the real Excalibur and that he has been betrayed. Rather than giving up, Arthur continues to fight with what was left of his shield. Nimue, the Lady of the Lake (Nineve in the Post-Vulgate), arrives in the last minute and uses her magic to cause Excalibur to fly from Accolon's hand. Arthur then wrestles the scabbard back and deals Accolon a mortal wound. At the same time, Morgan tries to personally murder the sleeping Urien, her husband, but is stopped by their own son

Yvain In Arthurian legend, Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', ''Ywan'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table. Tradition often portrays him as t ...

. When Arthur finally recognises Accolon and learns of Morgan's part in the plot, he assures his friend that he would not be punished if he lives, however Accolon dies from his wound four days later.Ronan Coghlan, ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends'', Element Books, 1993, p. 30. Accolon's body is sent by Arthur to Morgan, at the time still at

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

, who grieves after him greatly. She takes revenge on Arthur by stealing Excalibur's protective scabbard (arguably more valuable than the sword itself) and then losing it to the world forever by throwing it into an enchanted lake. Later, Morgan also comes upon Arthur's knight named Manassen (Manessen) who is in deadly peril (about to be drowned in a well by another knight who claims Manassen is guilty of adultery with his wife). When Morgan learns Manassen was Accolon's cousin, she saves him and even enables him to drown his enemy, which he gladly does.

Modern Arthuriana

Accolon also appears in some of modern Arthurian fiction. For instance, the scene of his battle with Arthur is included in Marion Zimmer Bradley's ''

The Mists of Avalon ''The Mists of Avalon'' is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine ...

'', though with the role of Nimue omitted. In Bradley's interpretation, Morgan and Accolon's aim was to restore the pre-Roman Celtic pagan religion, threatened by the aggressive advent of Christianity; Accolon is the second son of Uriens and a knight loyal to

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

. He becomes Morgan's lover, and she wants him to kill King Arthur and so restore the power of Avalon, but Arthur slays him in direct combat; when Morgan's role becomes evident, she is disgraced. The novel's Accolon was portrayed by Ian Duncan in its television adaptation. Another version of Accolon was portrayed by Anthony Dutton in the television series '' The Legend of King Arthur''.

References

{{Arthurian Legend Arthurian characters Fictional characters introduced in the 13th century Fictional knights Mythological swordfighters